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Solar shading crashes down at Solbjerg Plads

During the summer holidays, a solar shading panel broke and fell out of the steel frame near the southern façade of Solbjerg Plads. Something that should not be possible. The unusually hot weather seems to have caused the problem, and this can have consequences for the semester start if the panels are not fixed on time.

Anne M. Lykkegaard

Journalist

For those who have been coming to Solbjerg Plads 3 as of late, they have arrived at a building that is half-sealed off.

During the summer holidays, a solar shading panel broke and fell out of its steel frame. At first, a minimalistic barrier was put up, but now that the solar shading has been inspected by a group of technicians, which include the supplier, a glazier, and Campus Services, a proper fence has been put up.

“The hypothesis is that due to the hot weather, the steel frame ended up getting twisted more than it normally does, and this has resulted in the breaking of the solar shading. Before it broke off, the solar shading was hanging on by only one out of the three clasps. That and the weight of the mechanism cause it to fall down,” says René Steffensen, the Director of Campus Services at CBS.

Right now, the technicians are working on finding a solution, which involves removing the middle clasp, as it will ensure that the panel cannot be left hanging by only one clasp, but will hang by two. René Steffensen hopes that whatever the solution may be, it should be an easy one so that the sealing can be removed before the semester start party

“We are working hard to find a solution before the semester start, but as of now, it can go in both directions, really,” he says.

A proper fence is being put up until the problem has been fixed.(Photo: Anne M. Lykkegaard)

The impossible is possible

The breaking of the solar shading came as a bit of a surprise to Campus Services.

CBS has always had solar shading on the southern façade of Solbjerg Plads, but two years ago three panels fell down within three months. This made René Steffensen conclude that it was time to change the solar shading which had been put up in 1999.

A design process was initiated, and CBS had several demands for the new solar shading, to make them safer in the case where they break.

“The new solar shading is specifically designed so that when they break, they don’t fall down. They stay in the steel frame until Campus Services detects it and can take it down safely and put up a new one,” says René Steffensen and continues: